


Let's Go to the Mall

by Wintertree



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Pack Dad Derek Hale, Past Character Death, Recovery, season 3b spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-07 16:51:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1906617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wintertree/pseuds/Wintertree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"A light breeze kicked up her new pale coral sundress, so Lydia kept her arms down to keep from flashing her underwear. It was a little tacky to have to hold down a hemline, but as an added bonus, it also kept her from biting her nails in public.</p><p>Okay, maybe it was an inappropriate outfit to wear to a cemetery, but it was cute and Allison would have loved it."</p><p> </p><p>In which our hero, Lydia Martin, forces summer bonding with her new packmates in the form of shopping at the mall. This was just a head canon that ran far, far away from me. Unbeta-d, so all mistakes are mine and free to point out!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Go to the Mall

A light breeze kicked up her new pale coral sundress, so Lydia kept her arms down to keep from flashing her underwear. It was a little tacky to have to hold down a hemline, but as an added bonus, it also kept her from biting her nails in public.Okay, maybe it was an inappropriate outfit to wear to a cemetery, but it was cute and Allison would have loved it.

Lydia stifled a sigh. Scott was still kneeling in front of the headstone. It was a beautiful black marble, almost impossibly smooth and free from imperfections. A fresh bouquet of flowers rested in front of it.

_ALLISON ARGENT_

_1994 - 2014_

_" _Nous protégeons ceux__

_qui ne peuvent pas se_

_protéger eux même._ _"_

Lydia had to admit it was all very beautiful, if only hollow. She could feel no vibrations, no feeling of Allison here. This plot had more to do with the living than the dead. Speaking of the living, Scott turned around and gave her a watery smile. It was almost time for school again and Scott wanted to come and visit.

"Thanks for being here, Lydia, I just..."

Lydia fixed on a smile of her own, "I know." She gave his shoulder a warm squeeze. They sat there for a moment before Scott tensed up and looked at the trees lining the cemetary. Following his gaze, she saw Malia making a beeline towards them.

"Hey!" she called out. An elderly couple a couple plots down whipped their heads around and pursed their lips. Malia ( _thankfully_ ) picked up on their disgruntled tutting and adopted a softer tone when she came closer. "Hey. Stiles told me you were coming and he wasn't sure if there would be anyone else..."

"No, it's alright. I should be heading back now, though. My mom and I were going to get something to eat. Just text Stiles I'm fine." Scott stood up and brushed some grass off his pants.

"If you’re gonna be leaving, could I get a ride? The Sheriff just dropped me off down the road before shift."

“That sounds like a great idea, Lydia,” Scott said, fixing them both with a lopsided grin. Lydia rolled her eyes at him and gave an affirming shrug.

When they reached his bike, she pulled Scott in for a fierce, tight squeeze.

"Scott McCall, you promise you're going straight home and spending time with your loving mother? If I even _think_ you're going to go brood alone, I know for a fact Stiles stockpiled at least half a dozen Ben and Jerry’s in his freezer."

Scott gave a soft laugh and clutched his heart. "How could you ever betray me like that?"

“I know, you’d get all bloated and fat.” She pulled him in for one last hug. It was warm and comfortable there. He smelled kind of earthy and musky, but also strongly of middle-school-boy Classic Old Spice, the nerd. Even if visiting Ally’s grave didn’t hold sentimental value, being here with Scott was grounding. It was the type of embrace that left you feeling more safe and secure. For the first time in weeks, Lydia felt tears prickling her eyes without fully knowing why.

"I'm going to be ok, Lyds," he whispered into her neck.

"I know," she whispered back. She took a breath to say more, but whatever she meant to say was stuck on her tongue. Instead, she let out a small huff. "If anyone else calls me that I'll take your head." He responded by tickling her side, the bastard. Lydia shoved him away with a high-pitched _eep_ and ground her heels into the asphalt. Before she could plan a countermove, he quickly pulled on his helmet and rode out of her range, flashing one of his Scott-McCall-blinding-smiles.

“So, we leaving or what?”

Lydia reached for her keys in her purse before turning her attention back to Malia. She was Peter's daught—No. Lydia couldn't think about that too much. She still wasn't sure how much power Peter could hold over her. He proved himself to be too comfortable in her mind after the whole delving into Stiles’ mind situation. The “sassy and totally harmless” mask he was currently wearing was stretched as thin as one of his v-necks.

The young girl shuffled mindlessly, picking at her ill-fitting black jersey dress that was just one size too large. Lydia strode back to her car, mind already whirring.

"Malia, where did you get _that_."

"What? The dress? It was a neighbor's hand-me-down. Dad obviously didn't have anything else in the house."

"And what, you haven't gone shopping since."

"No?" Malia subconsciously shifted to a defensive stance. Poor thing. A predatory smiled slid onto Lydia's face as she keyed the ignition.

* * *

 

"Scott okay?" Kira sounded a little breathless, picking up after only the second ring. Already on the road, Lydia talked to the car's speakerphone. She liked the new features in her car. For some reason, she always felt the need to show them off.

"He's okay, going home. What are you doing right now?"

"Oh! I'm doing some runs. I'm about to finish up my… What, thirty-seventh mile?” she murmured something with someone on her end of the line. “But I was planning to stop after an hour anyways." Lydia rolled her eyes at Malia, who was nodding like that was an acceptable jogging speed. Animals.

"Well get home and take a shower. I'm with Malia and she needs to get a whole new wardrobe—"

"Wait," Malia sputtered, "I can't afford that!" Lydia just raised a hand to shut her up and continued.

"—and as new members of the pack, you're both going to need a leather jacket and I'm going to make sure you have taste."

"But—"

Kira let out a giggle and shushed someone. Well, that was interesting. There were not many people who could keep up with Kira and Lydia had just been with two of them. "The most painless thing, Malia, would probably be to go along with whatever Lydia says. I'll meet you there in like, 30-40 minutes, tops! Bye!" With a click Kira hung up.

"I'm not going to pay for this," Malia said, eyes dark and defiant.

"You're right, you're not. I'll cover it." Malia started to protest again. "Look, I cycle out my clothes once a year anyways, and my stocks are doing well enough to cover the extra cost. You're pack now, and Scott wants us to look after each other." Malia became even stiller.

"Don't fuss. You're just my new project and I'm taking you to Macy's."

Malia sparked back to life at that. "Macy's? I spend most of my time in the woods. I need something cheap and replaceable?"

"And that's exactly why you need to spend a little more and get something at least durable."

Malia scoffed. "Yeah, so I can train in one of your short skirts? I'll distract them with a ‘durable thong.’"

“Fine,” she said, turning her eyes back to the road, “We’ll go someplace affordable. Maybe even stop by,” the word felt dirty on her tongue, “Old Navy. But you’re getting a good quality jacket and I’m taking you prom dress shopping in the spring.”

She willed her heartbeat to remain steady before she continued. “Look, don’t whine, okay? Allison and I used to go to the mall all the time. It’ll be fun.”

The silence in the car seemed to extend and grow palpable. Finally, Lydia caught Malia relaxing out of the corner of her eye. “Fine. But I get veto power on the dress.”

* * *

 “Stop growling at the salesgirl, Malia.” Malia grumbled, fussing with the hemline. It was a cute pale dress, perfect for summer. Perfect for _Stiles._ It was still a bit cheap for Lydia’s tastes, but it was workable. Ally would have rocked it.

“You do look really cute, Mal.”

“I _hate_ it.”

“Stiles would love it.”

“I’m pretty sure Stiles would rather see me naked, and I can do that for free.”

The salesgirl, Alex or something, was practically trembling, torn between the large commission and the larger chance of losing a limb. “Uh, well, it also comes in mint?” Malia let out a freaking _whine._

Lydia finally took pity on the poor girl. “Take it off. Grab everything in this pile and we’ll check out.” Abby or Alex took the impressive mound of items over to the cash register while Malia fled back into the changing room.

“Thanks, Alicia!” Kira said. Kira met Lydia’s gaze and shrugged. “She’s a grade below us at school. We haven’t really talked; I doubt she even knows me or anything.”

Lydia didn’t have time to take a new breath before Malia was standing back in front of them, hair static-y and back in civilian clothes.

“Never. Again. _Ever.”_

“We still need to get you that jacket.” Lydia just smoothed wrinkles out of her skirt and gracefully walked to the register, irritation barely hidden. Of course Malia couldn’t quit bitching and moaning the whole time. Kira was sweet, but she complimented every outfit. How was Lydia supposed to set a baseline if everything was positive?

She had spent all weekend here during those first couple weekends after Allison transferred. Apparently Victoria Argent _had_ owned a boutique store (even if it was primarily a front to launder money for the hunter family). Sure Allison owned pieces with style, but more importantly, she had _taste_. Some other girls had invited them to go as a group, but Lydia was selfish and kept the new girl all to herself. Allison was the perfect partner. Always engaged, never snappy, and willing to buy ridiculous Frappuccino’s with her during food breaks. Depending on how Ally twitched her perfect brows (especially on point after Lydia bullied her into purchasing a brow pencil) Lydia knew whether or not an item would be a good investment.

But at least Lydia was _trying_ this time round. Inviting Kira to come along with them. Not hogging the new girl for herself and keeping her from making other friends. She wasn’t trying to steal Malia away, she was trying to pull her out and share. Lydia Martin did not do useless charity and she certainly did not _share_. A headache was starting to form. This whole event was turning out to be a disappointing disaster.

“I should be doing something else,” Malia grumbled. Kira was suddenly fascinated by her lack of a manicure. Lydia turned to Malia and fixed her with an intense, unblinking gaze.

“If you think your time is better suited elsewhere, Malia, go right ahead. As for me, I went from being the crazy girl with no friends to the crazy girl with dead friends. So excuse me if I wanted to give you a nice, normal summer activity. And before you say anything, _nothing_ you will ever do with Stiles will be nice or normal. And if you had really tried, this could have been fun. _I’m_ trying. I don’t just ‘try.’ So you’re going to shut up and fucking bond with us.” Lydia turned back to the horrified salesgirl—what was her name, ah, _Alicia—_ and whipped out her credit card. “I would like a receipt please, Alicia.”

The order was quickly swiped through. Malia at least had the decency to look ashamed. She mumbled something darkly.

“What was that?” Lydia signed the receipt with a flourish.

“I _said_ , thank you for taking me shopping.” Malia’s eyes flashed killer blue. It looked like each word cut her teeth like glass. She angrily grabbed a purple sweater off the pile and pulled it on. “This is soft, so I’m going to wear it.”

Lydia huffed, ego sated. She turned back to address Kira when she noticed that the other girl wasn’t paying any attention. Kira was busy texting and scanning the mall. Did she notice other friends here? She was in Beacon barely a semester and she already had half of the grade wrapped around her sweet, shy little pinky without even realizing. A couple years ago and Lydia would be burning with envy. Ok, maybe she was a _little_ envious, but who could blame her? Lydia didn’t become popular by accident—it was a calculated and manipulated endgame since 4th grade. It was exhausting, but she succeeded.

Briefly. Then fucking _Peter Hale_ happened. Fucking Hales.

Speaking of Hales, Lydia followed Kira’s gaze and saw a suspiciously broad-shouldered, leather-clad shape lurking behind a sunglass display.

Eyes narrowing, she spoke in a clear, low voice. “Derek.”

Almost comically, the large shape froze. His ears turned pink before he straightened his back and walked towards them. After a step or two, he remembered the giant suburban-mom shades and hurriedly stuck them back on the rack. He gave them a little head-nod.

“Lydia.”

She turned accusingly toward Kira.

“Sorry! We were out running earlier and he overhead our conversation. I wasn’t sure if this was like a ‘girls night out’ thing or a pack thing or whatever…” Kira paused, but Lydia continued to stare unblinkingly, “…but Derek wanted to come!”

Derek visibly tensed when Lydia redirected her gaze back to him. He schooled himself back into a smug, nonchalant mask. It was a mask Lydia was intimately familiar with on the receiving and giving end.

“I have a membership at a quality leather goods store. It’s on the other side of the mall,” he said with a shrug.

“Of course you do. Fine, we’re pretty much done here. This _was_ a girls-only event, but that’s apparently crashed and burned. You’re grabbing the bags and footing the jacket bill,” Lydia flipped her hair over her shoulder before continuing, “since you never really apologized for trying to kill me.” Derek nodded, as if he deserved it. Kira’s jaw dropped almost to the floor and Malia could barely contain her surprised glee. She strode out of the store, not waiting for them to catch up. Never say Lydia couldn’t nail an exit. Kira and Derek were still speaking in fast, hushed tones.

Lydia felt a presence by her side. Malia happened to still be in that horrible black dress, but she was still wearing the purple sweater. Try as she might to appear blasé about the whole shopping experience, Malia spent an awful amount of time admiring her new, human breasts in the changing room mirrors. She gave a little hum, looking back at the tense conversation behind them before cracking into a large, toothy grin.

“Maybe this thing could be fun.”

Alright, so maybe Malia wasn’t her new mall buddy. But bitchy mean girl gossip buddy? Lydia could _definitely_ work with that. 

* * *

Becoming bored by the hurt looks between Kira and Derek, Lydia rolled her eyes and explained the whole Kanima situation. God, it’s been _ages_ since she even thought about that saga. God knows where Jackson is currently dicking around. If his parents weren’t so rich and if Danny wasn’t keeping tabs like she suspected, Jackson would probably be stealing purses off the street. But Kira gave a little sigh at the whole love-conquers-all bit—the romantic. Honestly, she and Scott made stupid amounts of sense if they ever worked up a nerve to do anything—and melted when she heard how Derek was tricked.

As far as Lydia can tell, apparently Derek had continued his protector figure role for Kira after the Nogitsune. Scott was a great alpha, truly, but Derek knew what it was like be born, not bitten. Since her mother was depowered, or something, she had been spending most of her time training and exploring her powers with Derek.

_(Later, after summer ended, Kira would drunkenly reveal that most of the time they just sat around eating salads and gossiping about Scott.)_

But when Kira threw her arms around him in a consoling hug in the parking lot, knocking all the bags he was carrying around, Derek’s ears turned bright pink and he actually let out a huff of a laugh before loading everything into the trunk of Lydia’s car. Malia was still toying with her new leather jacket, glaring at random pedestrians and smirking when they hurriedly shuffled away in fear.

Lydia almost regretted going easy on Derek. Scott had told her how much happier Derek seemed to be as a beta again, but seeing this charming, emotionally stable business in person was… unsettling.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously before turning to Lydia, opening his mouth to speak. Before he could say anything Lydia cut him off.

“We’re good, Derek. Thank you for coming with us today.” She locked her eyes with him. “Really, thank you.”

His ears turned pink again, but he snapped his mouth shut and gave a short nod.

“Good. If you can give Kira a lift, I’m gonna head back to the loft.”

Lydia started, a buzzing pull from the nape of her neck and adrenaline sank low in her stomach. She felt both alert and draggy at the mention of the loft. The light whispers almost felt like a steady vibration. She grasped his forearm and called, “Wait!”

“What?” Derek tensed, but he felt sturdy and alive beneath her hands. For some reason the loft felt like death, but she couldn’t feel that on Derek. She took a steading breath and relaxed. That feeling must have meant nothing. Like a dream, it all seemed to fade away, and before long, it was hard to remember what even triggered her in the first place.

“Lydia?” She snapped back to attention, staring back into his worried eyes. She let go of his arm and trained a warm smile back onto her face. Surprisingly and not-so-surprisingly, it was easy to do so.

“It’s nothing. I’ll see you later, Derek. Take care.”

“You too, Lydia.” He gave her one last head nod before slipping on a pair of aviators and getting into a ridiculous minivan. For a second Lydia thought he was stealing it, but he pulled out quickly and tore off, as if he was still behind his Camero.

Lydia gave a questioning look to Kira. “A Mazda?”

“It’s a functional car. My dad helped him get it. Well, ok, my mom was the one who closed the deal, but it was my dad’s idea.” Lydia couldn’t help but continue staring. “Derek was over for sushi night and mentioned needing more seats.”

“I honestly don’t know how to respond to any of that, Kira,” Lydia said, shaking her head.

* * *

 

 _Girls (Plus Derek) at the Mall_ may be a work in progress, but the group of them had… potential. It wasn’t a perfect fit, but it could work. Like Derek’s car, it could be functional.

Balanced.

Just last week, Lydia had honest to god _sleepovers_ with Kira where they watched Disney movies and Mr. Yukimura made them waffles in the morning. It was simple and fun and the two girls had a giggle-fit. Lydia _never_ giggled. Malia might not be ready for that level of domesticity yet, but she was getting there.

And Lydia wasn’t going to be sloppy this time. She got these friends, and she intended to keep them. Or at least keep them looking hot if she couldn’t promise keeping them safe.

A smile tugged at Lydia’s lips. She had dragged a deadly kitsune, ex-alpha werewolf, and feral werecoyote out for an afternoon of feminine activities and lived to tell the tale. A thrum of energy burst through her. Unlike her moment with Derek, this wasn't a warning. Lydia melted slightly into the warm, incoherent whisper that buzzed through her bones, feeling more settled than she had at the grave that morning.

Yep. Ally would have loved it.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This takes place between Season 3B and 4.
> 
> THE SPOILERS: Allison Argent's death and Derek's kidnapping by Kate. Lydia's banshee powers alert her to the hunters that are going to die in Derek's loft, but she relaxes pushes it away when she senses that Derek is going to be physically safe.
> 
> I don’t really care too much about fashion or shopping, but Lydia does. She especially cares about the bonding aspect of spending a day at the mall together (seeing as that's what originally links Allison and Lydia in s1).
> 
> Fun fact, foxes can run up to 45 mph (wolves are pretty much the same). Because I’m a dork, see if you can catch the references to Arrow and the ridiculous product placements in Teen Wolf.
> 
> I kinda had a draft of this and then decided to finish it in a blur, so please point out any mistakes!
> 
> EDIT: 7/6/14 - Typos fixed.


End file.
